The six-month slowdown seems to also coincide with criteria changes to the island’s citizenship by investment scheme. Even though no figures were released for November purchases of real estate by foreigners the drop in the number of sales contracts could also be attributed to reduced interest.

The decline in June was 17% while July recorded similar  figures as last year’s and sales in August fell by 10%.  September and October also recorded similar figures with  last year’s, while November closed with a decrease of 2%. Real estate sales in November reached 907 against 925 the same month last year. Between January and November 2019, sale contracts amounted to 9,456 compared to 8,442 the corresponding period last year.

Limassol has recorded a steady decline in sales since June. November closed with a 14% decrease, with the highest decline recorded in June. However, for the first eleven months of 2019, sales in Limassol increased by 4% to 3,233 against 3,121 the same period in 2018.

At the same time, Paphos presents an improved picture. Since June, only two months have recorded negative percentages – July and October. However, real estate sales there over the past 11 months have increased by 20% to 2,410 compared to 2,012 in the corresponding period of 2018.

In the capital of Nicosia, a total of 1,818 sales contracts had been submitted compared to 1,476 the same period in 2018, and this means a 23% increase. The capital’s  upward figures indicate that it was unaffected by the changes to the naturalization scheme.

As for Larnaca, sale contracts stood at 1,406 compared to 1,242 the same period last year, that is up by 13%. And  in Famagusta, sales declined by 1% to 589 from 592 in 2018.

Source: In-Cyprus